Two red-zoned families have expressed interest in buying cheap sections made available by a charitable trust.

Eighteen low-cost sections are being offered to Christchurch homeowners having to move out of the residential red zone.

The Canterbury Co-operative Land Trust was offering 18 sections in Rolleston's Dunns Crossing Rd to red-zoners for $113,000 to $139,000, up to 40 per cent cheaper than other sections in the area, trustee Grant MacKinnon said.

He said two households had already expressed interest in the offer and he was "pretty confident" more would take up the offer over the next few weeks.

"It's too good a deal. We've got over 160 households registered on our database, so we'd expect a few more to come forward."

MacKinnon said the savings were genuine and all the trust needed was 18 households to "take up the opportunity".

The trust was established last year in response to the lack of affordable sections available in Canterbury after the region's earthquakes.

The trust had previously offered 14 low-cost sections in a half-completed subdivision in Linwood but failed to secure enough interest by the March deadline.

At the time, trustee Simon White said the trust had viewed the subdivision as a "potential quick-win" but did not have enough time to sell all the sections.

MacKinnon said he was confident the Rolleston sections would sell.

The Linwood offer had been an opportunity for householders to get a better price by buying a bulk lot of sections, whereas the Rolleston offer would be developed by the trust, he said.

"We've been looking at dozens of sites around the city. If this one works, then we'll see if we can roll it out again."

He said other potential sites included another in Rolleston and one in Kaiapoi.

Burwood-Pegasus city councillor Glenn Livingstone, who supports the trust, said the latest offer was "rare good news" for red-zone residents struggling to secure affordable housing in Christchurch.

"The trust has worked long hours in a voluntary capacity to get these sections up and running,'' he said.

"This development will be our template going forward for further affordable sections."

People who want to buy a section have to have been a homeowner in one of the residential red zones in the greater Christchurch area.